Time After Time
by Glanzendes
Summary: zutara its set in Ba Sing Sei and i've altered the events. its hopefully a different take on zutara stories i hope . i might make it a little dark but i promise a good plot line . please read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**disclaimer: i do not own ATLA, i wish i did..though so do a lot of people. anyway i hope you enjoy this small start to this story!**

The shadows danced and flitted past each other, mocking the boy as he spun around, searching for their masters. He couldn't see them, try as he might, the world before him was dimming, slowly fading away. The last he remembered of this world was an arm dressed in rough green sleeves jerking his collar up and being thrown over a shoulder.

--breaklinebreaklinebreakline--

The world began to reappear before the boy, bright lights filled his mind as he opened his eyes a fraction more. It must be late morning thought the boy as he struggled to stand up. After clumsily getting onto his feet the world grew back to its sharp, clear self. It was remarkably greener than the usually red and metal-gray he was used to. The room was not elaborately designed, nor was it well furnished. However draped on the walls were thick green and gold insignias. Green and gold also covered the bed. It was a simple room with a basic color scheme; it was not at all what the boy was used to. Though he had hardly lived in his past luxury for a while. The boy immediately scowled at the room then frowned. _How did I get here?_ He thought as he racked his brains of the previous night. _Oh! Ambush on the teashop. Ran to alley, knocked unconscious_. The night baffled him, _how did they find us?_ The boy continued, now pacing the small room. However his pacing was short lived as a door formed in the wall and a small petite looking girl entered the room.

"Yo! Grouchy is awake guys! Twinkle toes get your little girly behind in here!" the little girl yelled into the corridor. The boy was fuming at being called grouchy, though in the depths of his mind, he agreed he was rightly named. However apart from the somewhat infuriating nickname, the boy remembered this girl and recognized the other nickname. _The AVATAR! He's here?! Where am I? _The boy thought furiously as the girl re-entered the room.

"Hey, don't try anything funny. Your chi was blocked and you can't firebend but I know you can be crazy enough to try stupid things. Just sit back and relax, you ain't goin' nowhere anytime soo try and be nice," the little girl said, pushing the boy onto his bed with extreme force she didn't seem to posses. However knew of the girl's power in her bending fell acceptingly onto his bed; he had no bending and was still bruised pretty badly from the previous night's activities. As he sat on the bed, tensed for anything to happen, he watched the girl carefully. He began to remember her name. _Toph, I think it was _the boy concluded. Just as he memories started settling in their usual places, three more people walked into the room. One was the avatar- a lean, skinny boy who controlled tremendous amount of power- a tall lanky boy with dark skin and bright blue eyes called Sokka and finally the last that entered shared the same blue eyes as Sokka. However these were brighter and possessed much more fire within them. These eyes belonged to her, the girl who never gives up trying, the wretched girl who kept him from capturing the avatar, the stupid peasant who he hated most out of the entire group, Katara.

"Zuko," hissed Katara as her gaze landed on the boy.

**A/N- hello! please review!! also if you hate it please tell me WHY not that you hate it but WHY- key word is WHY. anyway...i forget are there any zuko nicknames, best i thought was grouchy. **


	2. Chapter 2

**disclaimer (again): i don't own ATLA, duh ;p**

**Thank you for the reviews! I don't know how to message you great terrific people separately yet (I generally don't like using computers because they seem to hate me sometimes) but to all, THANKYOU. Your reviews make me want to write and write and write, I think it's a drug for me! Anyway…..the story! (ps. One page on word seems really small on fanfic)**

All Zuko could do was stare at the group. Old feelings of hatred reemerged in him, urging him to grab the Avatar's arm and take the rest down and run. _All I ever do is run _Zuko thought to himself, the thought quieting all his rage. _I ran after the Avatar, I'm running from Azula, after Father, for my honor. _Zuko began to scowl at these thoughts and quickly forgot about his predicament, the people now crowding his small room, all he could see was his past flitting in and out of his sight, some blurry, some as clear as rain. Zuko was so absorbed in his thoughts he didn't notice a small, tan fist speeding towards his already bruised head.

SMACK

The impact dazed him and he fell back to his bed.

"KATARA!" yelled Aang as he quickly rushed to restrain her from hitting Zuko again.

"HE..ugh NEEDS..hurh TO BE..nrg AWAKE!" Aang said as he and Sokka tried to pull back the furious Waterbender.

"This..son of a bit-" Katara was cut off by Toph.

"Sugar Queen calm down, you can hit him IF he doesn't give us any answers. You have to let him speak first."

Zuko had watched the whole scene without a breath. _She wants to fucking kill me! _Zuko thought wildly as he continued to watch the Avatar and her brother restrain Katara as she made wild movements to get at him.

"Where am I?" Zuko said softly, interrupting the little sparing match between Katara and her brother.

"Ba Sing Sei, duh," replied Toph with her usually quickness. "However if you knew that already then you'd like to know that you are in the Palace, in a nice small room reserved for the highly wanted. However seeing as you're so grouchy all the time I can see why you haven't been caught before, you killed everyone with your grouchiness."

The statement fumed Zuko but his facial arrangement stayed under control and he threw off an air of being an arrogant prince.

"How did you find me?"

"Sugar Queen over there saw you in a teashop"

"Are there more of you?" Katara said, joining in after she calmed down.

Zuko quickly thought of his Uncle. _He's probably wondering where I am; probably worried I've gone off and done something stupid again. I've become that predictable, always never doing the right thing, never listening to him until it's too late. _

"No," Zuko replied softly, hoping that they won't find his Uncle.

"Toph?" The Avatar asked, his gaze not leaving Zuko.

"Of course he's lying! This is Zuko! All he does is lie and hunts you down! Why wouldn't there be more Firenation soldiers here?" Katara interjected.

"Sugar Queen…Breathe…._Breathe_. Do we need to chain you to a wall? Anyway, aren't I the one who is the human lie detector? And no, he isn't lying or at least that's what I feel." Toph said, leaning against a wall, head cast down, her hair covering her milky green eyes.

Zuko was shocked. He was lying. _She must be covering for me and they think I still have men with me! _Zuko thought rapidly.

"He…is…lying," Katara hissed.

"Well for now, lets keep him in. We can't trust him!" Sokka said. "Katara…?" Sokka glanced at Katara this time, giving her a curious look. Zuko pondered this strange interaction between the siblings.

"_What_ Sokka?" Katara spat at her brother. "I know that perfectly well."

"You just forgive easily…and well-" He was cut off by the Waterbender.

"I don't and I can't," Katara said, clearly ending the matter.

Zuko began to take in this conversation between brother and sister. _He thinks she'll take my side. He thinks she'll be able to forgive me. He thinks he sister is a liability. _Plans for his great escape began to form in his mind.

"Me and Toph will search the city for any Fire Nation soldiers. We'll get the guards to help," the Avatar said, breaking the tense silence that had fallen over the two Water tribe siblings.

"I'll go report to the King then," Sokka said as he tore his gaze from his sister. "Katara…"

"I'm going to my room," Katara replied, her heavy gaze locking with Zuko's. Her eyes were so full of hatred that it unnerved Zuko, he thought he'd never see that look ever again, not after _that_ day, no one could ever hate him that much as he did on _that _day.

Aang and Sokka left, leaving Katara and Toph with Zuko. Katara seemed lost for words and stormed out of the small room.

"I'll tell your Uncle," Toph said and then she left the room, closing the door behind her leaving Zuko looking at the use-to-be-door-now-wall.

Zuko thought about her last words with care. _I'll tell your Uncle? If she knew why didn't she tell her friends? I'll have to watch that one. _Zuko let out a long sigh and lay down on his small green and gold clad bed, his eyes searching for a spot long the ceiling to rest on. He found a small window near the top and gazed longingly at it. The window, though small it may be, lit up the room nicely letting Zuko bath in its light. After a while of staring up to the window Zuko began to drift into an easy sleep. Smirking to himself he muttered "Katara" softly and closed his eyes to see plans for his great escape.

**A/N- chappie two ends and i did this the day after the first!! impressed? i am! any way if any of you guys write stuff on fanfic too then you know how saddening it is to find that 2.5 pages of word looks ever so small on fanfic. oh well this one is 400 or so words more than the last chappie and i was damn proud i wrote this much. till next time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**SORRY! I have ABSOLUTELY no good reason as to why i spent...several months doing absolutely nothing. Anyway, hate the ending of avatar like most Zutara fans out there. Also a waaaaay toooo cheesey ending for me. So my solution to the crappy ending? stick with the same story, fill you in with the details as the story progresses and write or rewrite the ending of book 3- make aang realize something so incredible. i promise not to rush the story just to get to the perfect, happy ending because i firmly believe in a lose ending where the reader thinks about the ending (unlike the seriously tied up ending in AVTLA) and where the plot is important and vaguely interesting. **

Zuko was free, absolutely free and yet deep within Zuko the feelings of guilt started troubling him but all he could do with i

Zuko was free, absolutely free and yet deep within Zuko the feelings of guilt started troubling him but all he could do with it was to push it further down.  
"Katara…" Zuko muttered quietly to himself as he waited for his turn to be presented to the Fire Nation after his sister.

"Zuzu, it's your turn. Don't embarrass yourself now," Azula said as she returned to the waiting Area.

"Azula?"  
"What?"

"You're hiding something aren't you?" Zuko said sadly, staring at his sister.

"Brother all I wanted was for you to come home and that is done. Stop worrying dummy."

Zuko sighed at his sister, _Azula always lies _he thought as he walked out onto the balcony. Looking out at the crowd as they cheered for his return, those guilty feelings arose, slowly at first and then burst through their barriers overwhelming him. _Damnit! Why do I feel so guilty? I'm home, I should be happy, shouldn't I? _Zuko turned his head away, frowning at his confusion.  
"Katara…"

**this tiny chapter is just a linking chapter, the long ones will come soon (i have a half term soon which is two weeks long, should be a good time for writing, no?) and SORRY! again.  
**


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